​​A 21-year-old man has this evening been detained in connection with the disappearance of Karen Buckley.

The Cork student (24) vanished in the early hours of Sunday morning after leaving a nightclub in Glasgow.

The man has been detained in Glasgow this evening - and a police spokesman said that they are following "a definite line of inquiry".

Under Scottish law, when police believe that someone has committed a crime, they can detain that person in custody for up to 12 hours.

Police search garages and the surrounding areas near a block of flats in Dorchester Avenue in Glasgow for any trace of Irish student Karen Buckley. Photo credit: Andrew Milligan/PA WirePolice search garages and the surrounding areas near a block of flats in Dorchester Avenue in Glasgow for any trace of Irish student Karen Buckley. Photo credit: Andrew Milligan/PA WirePolice search garages and the surrounding areas near a block of flats in Dorchester Avenue in Glasgow for any trace of Irish student Karen Buckley. Photo credit: Andrew Milligan/PA WirePolice search garages and the surrounding areas near a block of flats in Dorchester Avenue in Glasgow for any trace of Irish student Karen Buckley. Photo credit: Andrew Milligan/PA WirePolice search garages and the surrounding areas near a block of flats in Dorchester Avenue in Glasgow for any trace of Irish student Karen Buckley. Photo credit: Andrew Milligan/PA WirePolice search garages and the surrounding areas near a block of flats in Dorchester Avenue in Glasgow for any trace of Irish student Karen Buckley. Photo credit: Andrew Milligan/PA WirePolice search garages and the surrounding areas near a block of flats in Dorchester Avenue in Glasgow for any trace of Irish student Karen Buckley. Photo credit: Andrew Milligan/PA WirePolice search garages and the surrounding areas near a block of flats in Dorchester Avenue in Glasgow for any trace of Irish student Karen Buckley. Photo credit: Andrew Milligan/PA WirePolice search garages and the surrounding areas near a block of flats in Dorchester Avenue in Glasgow for any trace of Irish student Karen Buckley. Photo credit: Andrew Milligan/PA WirePolice search garages and the surrounding areas near a block of flats in Dorchester Avenue in Glasgow for any trace of Irish student Karen Buckley. Photo credit: Andrew Milligan/PA WirePolice search garages and the surrounding areas near a block of flats in Dorchester Avenue in Glasgow for any trace of Irish student Karen Buckley. Photo credit: Andrew Milligan/PA WirePolice search garages and the surrounding areas near a block of flats in Dorchester Avenue in Glasgow for any trace of Irish student Karen Buckley. Photo credit: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

This may, in certain circumstances, be extended by a further 12 hours.

At the end of that period the police must release the suspect unless they believe they have sufficient evidence to arrest them.

The detention this evening came after teams of police had spent the day doing searches at a number of sites in and around Glasgow.

Teams have been scouring Dawsholm Park where her handbag was found yesterday and a nearby flat in Dorchester Avenue where the student was reportedly last seen.

Two officers in forensic suits entered the flat and an area to the rear of the block was taped off.

Officers later cordoned off land near High Craigton farm and Windyhills Golf Club on a country road between Glasgow and Drymen - and this is now the focus of of police attention.

Yesterday, police appealed for information about a grey car spotted on the road between 11am and 3pm on Monday.

The detective leading the hunt for Miss Buckley has said it is his ''absolute priority'' to find her.

Detective Superintendent Jim Kerr said earlier: "We have a team of specialist search officers from the west and east working in the area as well as additional patrols in the west end and north of the city."

Yesterday, her mother Marian Buckley, 61, said: ''We just want Karen home safely, we are desperate. She is our only daughter, we love her dearly.

''If anybody has any information, please come forward, we would dearly appreciate it.''

Miss Buckley arrived at The Sanctuary with friends at around 11.45pm on Saturday and at around 1am she told them she was going to the toilet. She failed to return and did not take her jacket.

Her father John Buckley, 62, said yesterday the disappearance was "so out of character".

He said: ''We are extremely concerned for her. We are desperate to get her back and safe with her family - she is our only daughter, we love her dearly and just want her to come home safe and sound.''

In Ms Buckley's home in north Cork a special prayer service was arranged today for local people to show support for the family.

The private Mass of Hope, as it was being described, was held at the Church of Saint Michael The Archangel, Mourneabbey, near the town of Mallow.

William Crean, Catholic Bishop of Cloyne, led the prayers for Ms Buckley.

"On my own behalf and on behalf of the faithful of the Diocese of Cloyne, I wish to offer prayerful support to the family of Karen Buckley at this painful time as they await the safe return of Karen," he said.

Bishop Crean urged the people of Mourneabbey to pray for Ms Buckley's safe return and to pray for her parents, and her brothers Brendan, Kieran and Damian.

Police investigating Ms Buckley’s disappearance said yesterday that they had “grave concerns for her well-being”.

A missing person alert had been issued on Monday after friends of the young nursing student raised the alarm, saying it was "very out of character" for her not to be in touch with them after a night out.

Karen was initially thought to have disappeared shortly after 1am on Sunday morning after she was spotted on CCTV footage outside the Sanctuary nightclub.

She was seen walking away with a man after briefly chatting to him.

During a press conference attended by Karen’s parents John and Marion on Tuesday, Det Supt Kerr said the man in the CCTV was not a suspect.

The police officer said that the man had driven Karen to his apartment on Dorchester Avenue after she left The Sanctuary nightclub.

The man said that Karen had left his home at approximately 4am to walk home – and police later confirmed that the last-known sighting of her was at approximately 4am Sunday morning, walking on Dorchester Avenue.

Ms Buckley’s handbag was handed into police by a member of the public after it was spotted in Dewsholn Park, a green area a short distance from Dorchester Avenue – and about two miles from The Sanctuary nightclub.

Karen was studying occupational therapy at Glasgow Caledonian University having previously studied nursing in Ireland.